The number of mortgage approvals made to home buyers dipped in November, but remained above the monthly average seen over the past year, according to Bank of England figures. Some 65,700 mortgage approvals for house purchases were recorded in November, which was around 2,400 lower than October but above the previous 12-month average of 60,400.
Approvals for remortgaging (which only capture remortgaging with a different lender) decreased by 300 to 31,200 in November but remained above the previous 12-month average of 30,000. While affordability remains an issue for many buyers, the new year is off to a promising start with a couple of lenders reducing their mortgage rates.
The annual growth rate for consumer credit borrowing slowed to 6.6% in November, from 7.3% in October, according to the Money and Credit report. Consumer credit includes borrowing through methods such as credit cards, car dealership finance and personal loans.
Within the consumer credit figure, the annual growth rate for credit card borrowing decreased to 8.0% in November, from 9.4%. The annual growth rate for other forms of consumer credit (such as car dealership finance and personal loans) fell to 5.9% from 6.3%.
Households’ deposits with banks and building societies increased slightly by £0.2 billion in November, following net deposits of £18.8 billion in October, which had been the biggest figure recorded since £21.5 billion in December 2020. Mark Hicks, head of active savings, Hargreaves Lansdown said: “A post-Budget pause marked the start of a seasonal slowdown in savings.
